Contribution of Curriculum globALE, institutionALE and managerALE to quality in adult education centres in Georgia

Background: Between 2022 and 2024, the Georgian Adult Education Centres (AECs) implemented three tools developed by DVV International: Curriculum globALE, a programme to professionalise adult educators; Curriculum institutionALE, a framework to strengthen Institutes of Adult Learning and Education (IALE); and Curriculum managerALE, a program to develop the managerial competences of IALE managers. Purpose: The present study aims to investigate how the three curricula have contributed to enhancing the quality of the AECs in Georgia, one of the main objectives of their implementation in this context. Setting: The research focuses on all the 14 AECs currently operating in Georgia. Population: all 14 directors of the AECs and 10 trainers coming from different centres and selected through a purposive sampling Intervention: A quality framework has been specifically developed for the research, which took into consideration the indication provided by the scientific literature on the topic of quality in adult education, the indications provided by the three curricula and adapted to the specific context of the research through a dialogue-oriented approach. The tool has been used to assess the contribution of the three curricula on the quality of the AECs. Research design: Qualitative evaluation research Data collection and analysis: Data was collected through 14 interviews conducted with the directors and two focus groups involving AECs trainers. The collected data was subsequently analysed using a content-structured analysis approach. Findings and conclusions: The findings highlight the effective contribution of Curriculum globALE, institutionALE, and managerALE in enhancing the overall quality of the Georgian AECs. This improvement has been achieved through capacity building in the AECs' internal organisational processes, such as strategy and management and the professionalisation of the staff working in the centres. Additionally, the trainers' acquisition of knowledge and skills, has contributed to improving the quality of both teaching and learning processes. However, certain limitations emerged in the implementation of the three curricula within the studied context, such as a perceived gap, expressed by some of the directors and trainers, between the defined standards and their vision of an organisation providing non-formal education. Moreover, there is a lack of evidence concerning the curricula’s impact on specific outcomes of the centres, such as participation rates or the employability of beneficiaries. This result underscores the need for further research to explore these aspects in depth.